Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Explain the phenomena of surface tension on the basis of molecular theory.
Advertisements
Solution
Molecular theory of surface tension:
- Let PQRS = Surface film of liquid in a container containing liquid. PS is the free surface of the liquid and QR is the inner layer parallel to PS at distance equal to the range of molecular force.
- Now consider three molecules A, B, and C in a liquid in a vessel such that molecule A is well inside the liquid, molecule B within the surface film, and molecule C is on the surface of the liquid as shown in the figure.
- The sphere of influence of molecule A is entirely inside the liquid. As a result, molecule A is acted upon by equal cohesive forces in all directions. Thus, the net cohesive force acting on molecule A is zero.
- For molecule B, a large part of its sphere of influence is inside the liquid and a smaller part is outside the surface (in the air). The adhesive force acting on molecule B due to air molecules above it and within its sphere of influence is weak compared to the strong downward cohesive force acting on the molecule. As a result, molecule B gets attracted inside the liquid.
- For molecule C, half of the sphere of influence is in air and half is in liquid. As the density of air is much less than that of liquid, the number of air molecules within the sphere of influence of molecule C above the free surface of the liquid is much less than the numbers of liquid molecules within the sphere of influence that lies within the liquid. Thus, the adhesive force due to the air molecules acting on molecule C is weak compared to the cohesive force acting on the molecule. As a result, molecule C also gets attracted inside the liquid.
- Thus, all molecules in the surface film are acted upon by an unbalanced net cohesive force directed into the liquid. Therefore, the molecules in the surface film are pulled inside the liquid. This minimizes the total number of molecules in the surface film. As a result, the surface film remains under tension. The surface film of a liquid behaves like a stretched elastic membrane. This tension is known as surface tension and the force due to it acts tangential to the free surface of a liquid.
RELATED QUESTIONS
The energy of the free surface of a liquid drop is 5π times the surface tension of the liquid. Find the diameter of the drop in C.G.S. system.
Angle of contact for the pair of pure water with clean glass is _______.
A raindrop of diameter 4 mm is about to fall on the ground. Calculate the pressure inside the raindrop. [Surface tension of water T = 0.072 N/m, atmospheric pressure = 1.013 x 105 N/m2 ]
Water rises to a height 3.2 cm in a glass capillary tube. Find the height to which the same water will rise in another glass capillary having half area of cross section.
Explain why A drop of liquid under no external forces is always spherical in shape
Mercury has an angle of contact equal to 140° with soda lime glass. A narrow tube of radius 1.00 mm made of this glass is dipped in a trough containing mercury. By what amount does the mercury dip down in the tube relative to the liquid surface outside? Surface tension of mercury at the temperature of the experiment is 0.465 N m–1. Density of mercury = 13.6 × 103 kg m–3
Two narrow bores of diameters 3.0 mm and 6.0 mm are joined together to form a U-tube open at both ends. If the U-tube contains water, what is the difference in its levels in the two limbs of the tube? Surface tension of water at the temperature of the experiment is 7.3 × 10–2 N m–1. Take the angle of contact to be zero and density of water to be 1.0 × 103 kg m–3 (g = 9.8 m s–2)
In a conical pendulum, a string of length 120 cm is fixed at rigid support and carries a mass
of 150 g at its free end. If the mass is revolved in a horizontal circle of radius 0.2 m around a
vertical axis, calculate tension in the string (g = 9.8 m/s2)
A big drop of radius R is formed from 1000 droplets of water. The radius of a droplet will be _______
A) 10 R
B) R/10
C) R/100
D) R/1000
State any two characteristics of the angle of contact
When a sparingly soluble substance like alcohol is dissolved in water, surface tension of water
When the size of a soap bubble is increased by pushing more air in it, the surface area increases. Does it mean that the average separation between the surface molecules is increased?
Water near the bed of a deep river is quiet while that near the surface flows. Give reasons.
An ice cube is suspended in vacuum in a gravity free hall. As the ice melts it
When water droplets merge to form a bigger drop
Air is pushed into a soap bubble of radius r to double its radius. If the surface tension of the soap solution in S, the work done in the process is
Viscosity is a property of
The rise of a liquid in a capillary tube depends on
(a) the material
(b) the length
(c) the outer radius
(d) the inner radius of the tube
A capillary tube of radius 0.50 mm is dipped vertically in a pot of water. Find the difference between the pressure of the water in the tube 5.0 cm below the surface and the atmospheric pressure. Surface tension of water = 0.075 N m−1.
Two large glass plates are placed vertically and parallel to each other inside a tank of water with separation between the plates equal to 1 mm. Find the rise of water in the space between the plates. Surface tension of water = 0.075 Nm−1.
A metal piece of mass 160 g lies in equilibrium inside a glass of water. The piece touches the bottom of the glass at a small number of points. If the density of the metal is 8000 kg/m3, find the normal force exerted by the bottom of the glass on the metal piece.
A cube of ice floats partly in water and partly in K.oil (in the following figure). Find the ratio of the volume of ice immersed in water to that in K.oil. Specific gravity of K.oil is 0.8 and that of ice is 0.9.
A solid sphere of radius 5 cm floats in water. If a maximum load of 0.1 kg can be put on it without wetting the load, find the specific gravity of the material of the sphere.
Insect moves over the surface of water because of ______.
The surface tension of a liquid at critical temperature is ______
A u-tube is made up of capillaries of bore 1 mm and 2 mm respectively. The tube is held vertically and partially filled with a liquid of surface tension 49 dyne/cm and zero angles of contact. Calculate the density of the liquid, if the difference in the levels of the meniscus is 1.25 cm. take g = 980 cm/s2
Describe an experiment to prove that friction depends on the nature of a surface.
Mention the S.I unit and dimension of surface tension.
Distinguish between cohesive and adhesive forces.
Obtain an expression for the excess of pressure inside a
- liquid drop
- liquid bubble
- air bubble
A capillary of diameter d mm is dipped in water such that the water rises to a height of 30 mm. If the radius of the capillary is made `(2/3)` of its previous value, then compute the height up to which water will rise in the new capillary?
Water rises in a capillary tube of radius r upto a height h. The mass of water in a capillary is m. The mass of water that will rise in a capillary of radius `"r"/4` will be ______.
The surface tension of the two liquids is respectively 20 and 60 dyne cm-1. The liquids drop from the ends of two tubes of the same radius. The ratio of the weights of the two drops is ______
Two small drops of mercury each of radius 'R' coalesce to form a large single drop. The ratio of the total surface energies before and after the change is ____________.
Two spherical rain drops reach the surface of the earth with terminal velocities having ratio 16 : 9. The ratio of their surface area is ______.
If the surface tension of a soap solution is 3 × 10-2 N/m then the work done in forming a soap film of 20 cm × 5 cm will be ______.
A molecule of water on the surface experiences a net ______.
Soap solution is used for cleaning dirty clothes because ______.
Why is raindrop spherical in nature?
The length of a needle floating on water is 2 cm. The additional force due to surface tension required to pull the needle out of water will be (S.T. of water = 7.0 × 10−2 N/m).
Two mercury droplets of radii 0.1 cm. and 0.2 cm. collapse into one single drop. What amount of energy is released? The surface tension of mercury T = 435.5 × 10–3 Nm–1.
The sufrace tension and vapour pressure of water at 20°C is 7.28 × 10–2 Nm–1 and 2.33 × 103 Pa, respectively. What is the radius of the smallest spherical water droplet which can form without evaporating at 20°C?
This model of the atmosphere works for relatively small distances. Identify the underlying assumption that limits the model.
Eight droplets of water each of radius 0.2 mm coalesce into a single drop. Find the decrease in the surface area.
A soap bubble of radius 3 cm is formed inside another soap bubble of radius 6 cm. The radius of an equivalent soap bubble which has the same excess pressure as inside the smaller bubble with respect to the atmospheric pressure is ______ cm.
We have three identical perfectly black plates. The temperatures of first and third plate is T and 3T. What is the temperature of second plate if system is in equilibrium?
A drop of water and a soap bubble have the same radii. Surface tension of soap solution is half of that of water. The ratio of excess pressure inside the drop and bubble is ______.
In a U-tube, the radii of two columns are respectively r1 and r2. When a liquid of density ρ(θ = 0°) is filled in it, a level difference of h is observed on two arms, then the surface tension of the liquid is ______.
A liquid drop of density ρ is floating half immersed in a liquid of density d. The diameter of the liquid drop is ______.
(ρ > d, g = acceleration due to gravity, T = surface tension)
Two blocks of masses m and M are connected by means of a metal wire of cross-sectional area A passing over a frictionless fixed pully as shown in the figure. The system is then released. If M = 2m, then the stress produced in the wire is ______.
Find the work done when a drop of mercury of radius 2 mm breaks into 8 equal droplets. [Surface tension of mercury = 0.4855 J/m2].
